Saturday, June 30, 2007

It makes as much good sense to remove the Hetch Hetchy Dam (considering the water it stores can be easily stored in other ways) to provide access to the twin of Yosemite, as it does to construct the Auburn Dam to provide 500 year flood protection to Sacramento, and stabilize the river running through the Parkway.

It's hardly surprising that a key House panel rejected President Bush's proposal to study how to restore Yosemite's famously submerged Hetch Hetchy Valley.

Ever since Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco became House speaker, it was clear Bush's proposal would go nowhere, and that John Muir would remain heartbroken, rolling over in his grave.

Pelosi and her powerhouse counterpart in the Senate, Dianne Feinstein, cling to fears that draining Hetch Hetchy would endanger San Francisco's water and power supplies. Numerous California scientists say those supplies could be replaced by enlarging and revamping downstream reservoirs, but Pelosi and other Democrats in the House apparently don't want such findings validated by a federal study.

This blog is part of the ongoing work of the American River Parkway Preservation Society to provide public education and advocacy around public policy issues that may be related to the Parkway and the adjacent communities along the American River in Sacramento, California.